The present invention relates to a wireless cell design technique that calculates an optimum layout of a wireless cell station in an environment using a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to an apparatus or a program for calculation of an optimum number and layout positions of cell stations for specific wireless terminals.
In a wireless communication system, for example, a wireless LAN, wireless communications are carried out between a cell station connected to a wired LAN and a wireless terminal provided with a wireless communication function. One of the characteristics the wireless communication system has is that it requires no wires. For example, in many instances, an indoor wireless LAN system is adopted for the reason of this very characteristic. In such cases, the wireless terminal is moved less frequently and it is not necessarily mandatory that wireless communications be possible throughout all indoor regions.
A cell design technique is known as part of the technology indispensable to implementing the wireless communication system. A wireless cell refers to a region that can be covered by a single cell station.
The conventional cell design technique is concerned with determining an optimum layout of the cell station in the wireless communication system. More specifically, it calculates the number and location of cell stations required to cover a specific region of the system based on the information on shapes of buildings that can affect wireless communications and positions of structures, such as a desk, and candidate locations of the cell stations. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-333239 discloses a technique relating to a method of determining an optimum layout of cell stations of this sort.
The conventional technique according to the publication above takes into account another characteristic of the wireless communication system that a wireless terminal is mobile. It therefore assumes that the cell stations should cover all applicable indoor regions. The technique performs calculations for even redundant cell stations in order that a region, at which the wireless terminal is in fact less likely to be installed, can be covered for good wireless communications.